My husband and I are budgeting maniacs; however, it wasn’t always this way. When we married, I went shopping as a hobby. I had the credit card debt to show for it. My husband had very different ideas about how we should spend money, but he had a car loan and student loans.
We knew we needed to get on the same page quickly, so we started our journey to becoming debt-free in 2012.
We became parents the next year and the year after that my husband started seminary. We worked hard to pay off car payments and student loans while trying not to accrue more debt for his schooling. We withdrew cash each paycheck, put that cash into little envelopes, and then we only spent what we had. We clipped coupons and rarely went out to eat. We rarely went over our budget and made sure we were sticking with our plan. We used Dave Ramsey’s plan and principles, and I think Dave would’ve been proud.
Except . . . Sometimes we went on vacation.
Now Dave Ramsey isn’t against vacations, per se. However, he encourages in-debt people to get intense and serious about paying off debt. “Sell everything but the kids,” he jokes. But my husband and I knew we were in for the long haul with our debt payoff. We both only worked part-time, juggling classes and teaching part-time and childcare so that we didn’t have to pay for daycare. We had a second baby along the way.
It took us five long years to become debt-free. Those five years could have felt stifling if we hadn’t made the time and money for a few extras. We made five years of sweet memories with our little family, even when traveling with little ones was hard.
My kids don’t remember a whole lot about those years, but I do. And I have the pictures to prove that we did fun things. They love to look through those pictures and hear about the adventures we had.
There was nothing new or innovative about the way we made it happen, but in case you’re looking for permission to go on vacation while you’re paying off debt, you’ve got it from me. You’ve got my permission and my encouragement.
Here are the simple ways we made it happen.
Pay Cash
We always paid cash for any trip we took. We put travel into our budget! If we didn’t have the cash for it, we just didn’t go. This was hard, because many times, the cash wasn’t there. So we learned to say no to ourselves. We got really good at saying no to ourselves, in fact. But it got easier as we went. We made sure the cash we were spending was planned specifically for travel, whether big or small.
Take Day Trips
We took a lot of day trips. We lived in Fort Worth, Texas during our seminary years, and we took lots of day trips into Dallas. There were free museum days and free trolleys that my little ones adored. There were parks that provided a new landscape for our family. New places to get ice cream to go with our picnic lunch. We drove to nearby Waco and found a little community that grew their own food, forged their own metals, and made their own baskets. They gave free demonstrations for visitors. We visited state parks and had picnics and went to free outdoor concerts. Everywhere I have ever lived has been within driving distance of fun day-trip destinations. Most of our vacations were this kind, small and doable mini-vacations. And at the end of the day, we all got to sleep in our own beds. No suitcases required.
Visit Family
We spent time visiting family. Some of our favorite little trips were visiting aunts, uncles, and cousins, spending time with the people we love but didn’t get to see often. Several of our family members had pools, and they would extend generous invites to come stay and play. Those were great times of reconnecting, and they felt like a getaway from everyday life. Some of those family members are gone now, and we are so grateful for the time spent with them.
Budget One Bigger Trip a Year
We took a bigger trip, but only once a year. We saved every month for this one bigger trip. We found an inexpensive place to stay that had a kitchen. Side note: we have gone back to this same place every year since for our vacation week. My kids feel like it’s their second home. We prioritized this time away, and we made the most of our resources on this trip. Our weekly grocery money bought us food for the week. Our weekly gas money got us halfway to our destination. We even went to timeshare presentations with two toddlers to get free tickets for a theme park we wanted to visit! Another year they gave us $200 cash for attending the presentation. We visited new playgrounds and drove out to the lake. We ate ice cream cones from new places, and we started new vacation traditions, like completing a new puzzle on the hotel coffee table. We do this every single year, and my kids look forward to helping with the vacation puzzle!
Say No to Expensive Trips
You may have to wait a few years to visit the mouse in Florida. (We haven’t been brave enough to talk about the D-word at our house yet!) But these years with kids fly by. I’m so glad we took the time to make our family vacations and getaways a priority.
If you’re on the road to freedom from debt, I applaud you. Sitting down and facing a difficult financial situation is hard and takes a lot of bravery.
Working a plan for getting out of debt requires diligence. But don’t let it stop you from living your life.
Did it take us a little longer to pay off debt as a result? Sure, I guess. But was it absolutely worth it? It was. Just don’t tell Dave.
